Embodiments herein generally relate to the utilization of printing devices that have multiple menu options and more particularly to methods and devices that utilize a profile that includes templates that are reused by such printing devices, which avoids requiring the user to reselect the same menu options each time they desire to perform a specific activity with the printing device.
The embodiments herein provide a quick way for a user to perform daily tasks routinely with ease. The idea is to let any user with access to a local printing device to set up an unique profile on the machine via, for example, a network based user interface (e.g., a WebUI) which includes user preferences of features frequently used, settings for e-mail, fax etc. These settings can be saved as a series of templates. Once the profile is setup, it can be sent to the machine as a print ready file. The user can go to the printing device's local user interface and login to release the secure settings job. The user is then presented with their profile and template settings, and the user can choose any template settings and start to use the features straight away. The embodiments herein thereby provide a significant time-saver if the user has to regularly send the same e-mails, and the same faxes to a preset list of people routinely, while simultaneously printing and/or making copies.
One method embodiment herein (presented from the viewpoint of a computerized device) creates a user profile for printing device operations using a first computerized device, and creates at least one template within the user profile using the first computerized device. The method sends the user profile from the first computerized device to a printing device. The printing device stores the user profile within a computer readable storage medium of the printing device. The template comprises selections of menu options offered by the printing device. A user will operate the printing device using the profile and the template more than one time, and each time the user operates the printing device, the user is presented with an option to access the user profile to cause the template to automatically select the menu options offered by the printing device. Each time the user operates the printing device after accessing the user profile from the computer readable storage medium of the printing device, the printing device performs operations according to selected menu options identified by the template.
The method also saves the user profile within a computer readable storage medium of the first computerized device. The method can contact a second computerized device through a network to access a utility that creates the user profile and the template. In addition, the user profile can have an expiration date/time, and the printing device deletes the user profile from the computer readable storage medium of the printing device after the expiration time has expired. The user profile can be sent to the printing device as a print ready file.
Another method (presented from the viewpoint of the printing device) comprises receiving, by the printing device, a user profile from the first computerized device. Again, the user profile comprises at least one template and the template comprises selections of menu options offered by the printing device. The method stores the user profile within a computer readable storage medium of the printing device. Again, the user will operate the printing device using the profile and the template more than one time. Therefore, the method presents the user with an option to access the user profile and the template maintained within the computer readable storage medium of the printing device, through a graphic user interface of the printing device, each time the user operates the printing device. Further, the method automatically selects the menu options offered by the printing device according to selected menu options identified by the template, each time the user accesses the user profile and the template. The method performs various operations according to the selected menu options identified by the template using the printing device after automatically selecting the menu options.
Again, the user profile can have an expiration, and the method deletes the user profile from the computer readable storage medium of the printing device after the expiration has expired.
Various device embodiments are also presented below. A printing device embodiment herein comprises a processor and an input/output device operatively connected to the processor. The input/output device receives the user profile from the first computerized device. The printing device also includes a computer-readable storage medium operatively connected to the processor. The computer readable storage medium maintains the user profile.
As above, the user will operate the printing device using the profile and the template more than one time. A graphic user interface is operatively connected to the processor, and the graphic user interface presents the user with an option to access the user profile and the template maintained within the computer readable storage medium of the printing device each time the user operates the printing device. The processor automatically selects the menu options offered by the printing device according to selected menu options identified by the template each time the user accesses the user profile and the template. A printing engine is operatively connected to the processor, and the printing engine performs a printing operation according to the selected menu options identified by the template after the processor automatically selects the menu options.
Again, the user profile can have an expiration date/time, and the processor deletes the user profile from the computer readable storage medium of the printing device after the expiration has expired. Further, the user profile can be received by the input/output device as a print ready file.
These and other features are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description.